hookedonbass
05-17-2008, 07:09 PM
Bass fishing is still slow with cold temperatures preventing the beginning of spawning season.
The fish are still in pre-spawn and are spooky, fleeing at the sight or sound of a lure hitting the water. The males' minds are cluttered with the thoughts of females (much like a single guy in a bar on Saturday night), and are not paying any attention to food. Nesting will eventually occur in about 12 to 36 inches of water within 7 or 8 feet from shore when the waters reach 62-65 degrees. Then the male will finish cleaning a nest about 20 inches in diameter and the female will slide over it and start depositing her eggs, a few hundred at a time. In fact, she may return to the nest to spawn with the same male or in the nests of several males.
Many females may deposit their eggs in the same nests and numbers of eggs may vary from a few hundred to several thousand. Note: A female bass may contain 2,000-7,000 eggs per pound of body weight. When she is done, she leaves and moves into deep water to rest. The male has deposited his sperm on the eggs but stays around to protect them. The eggs will hatch in about 5-10 days depending on the water temperature. Meanwhile, the yellow perch are circling the nest and taking turns moving in for a free meal. The male bass will chase away the intruder and as he leaves the nest more perch quickly move in for a quick meal.
After the fry are born, they will remain on the nest until their egg sac has absorbed. During this time they have been hiding in the rocky bottom of the nest. They begin feeding on Entomostraca, but as they grow they increasingly seek larger food items and actually will feed on smaller fish once they reach 2 inches in length.
The growth rate of largemouth bass depends on environmental circumstances. A bass in New England will only grow from 2-4 inches in the first year, 5-7 inches in the second year and 8-11 inches in the third year. It takes seven or eight years for a largemouth to reach 18-19 inches. Florida bass are known to grow quickly and can reach 10 pounds in a few years, and 20-pounders are not uncommon. In New England, a 10-pound largemouth is a trophy.
Smallmouth bass spawn when the water temperature reaches 60-70 degrees. So you could actually have both largemouth and smallmouth spawning at the same time. In New England this is not likely to happen as the smallmouth have usually finished spawning before the largemouth begin.Their nests are normally smaller by a few inches in diameter and will be in water of 3-22 feet. Their nest will also be cleaned of rocks and gravel by the male fanning his tail. After the nest is complete, the male will select a ripe female (back to that Saturday night gig), and drive her to the nest (in a Corvette maybe?). The eggs incubate for 2-9 days. After hatching, the fry leave the nest within a few hours. Their is little or no parental care.
It can take 7-10 years for smallmouth in rivers to reach 18-20 inches. In infertile streams it can take four years for a smallmouth to reach 9 inches. This doesn't stop the smallmouth's top billing as the trophy fish of the bass family. It is an extremely active fish and usually will leave the water in a spectacular jump when hooked.
Both species of bass that are predominant in New England live on crayfish, minnows and smelt. However, neither largemouth or smallmouth will pass up a meal of small perch, alewives, pickerel or trout if there aren't any of their favorite foods available. Largemouth will also consume baby ducks, squirrels, chipmunks or anything that invades its territory. They are the sharks of fresh water.
William Billings, of South Burlington, Vt., recently did what no one in New England had ever done before. At a scant 10 yards, he pulled the trigger on a monster tom with a 16-inch beard. According the National Wild Turkey Federation's scoring system, when the bird's beard length and weight of 21 pounds, 8 ounces is calculated with the bird's inch and a half spurs, it equates to a total NWTF score of 83.5 — making it the 35th largest typical eastern turkey ever recorded in that category, and the second largest ever shot in the East. It is by far the highest scoring typical bird ever shot in New England or New York.
According to Billings, on Saturday evening he was driving down a road with his father and brother in an area they frequently hunt in Williamstown, Vt. They spied a large tom in a field they were familiar with and decided to set up on it early the next morning.
"We were set up by 4 a.m.," he said. "The tom flew down by 5:30 or 6 and started gobbling."
A half mile down the road, another tom perked up, and the hunters were surrounded by lively turkeys, non of which presented a shot. As the morning wore on the action faded. Around 9 o'clock the cold and rain was starting to get to the hunters when Billings' father spied another bird making its way toward their three decoys.
"When I saw him I said, 'Dad, he's got a third leg,'" said Billings, who at first glance mistook the giant beard for an extra leg. "Then I said, 'Dad, that's his beard!'"
The patient hunters stopped calling and let the bird work in close. "I am left handed and couldn't get the angle for the shot," said Billings. "He came closer and I shot him at about 10 yards,"
After a few quick pictures were snapped with a cell-phone camera, the bird was reported at Messier's General Store in East Randolph, Vt. The beard was officially measured at 16 inches. "I measured it three times," said the weigh master at Messier's, who added she had another man come over and verify her measurement.
After a bit of celebration, the turkey was put in the back of the family's pick-up truck for the hour-long drive home to South Burlington. During the trip, tragedy struck. According to Billings, something rubbed against the fragile beard, shortening its length by a few inches. This is not as unique a situation as it might appear.
Karen Cavender, who is in charge of records for the National Wild Turkey Federation, was optimistic.
"If it was a person of authority who was used to measuring beards on a regular basis, and if they sign an affidavit, I see no reason why it shouldn't be recognized," she said.
It should be noted that often with extremely large beards, they are very brittle. Frequently it is only a few hairs that survive for long at an exceptional length. The majority usually get worn down by natural wear and tear, including getting dragged on the ground.
Wayne Hooper is a member of the New England Outdoors Writers Association and a lifelong Seacoast resident.
The fish are still in pre-spawn and are spooky, fleeing at the sight or sound of a lure hitting the water. The males' minds are cluttered with the thoughts of females (much like a single guy in a bar on Saturday night), and are not paying any attention to food. Nesting will eventually occur in about 12 to 36 inches of water within 7 or 8 feet from shore when the waters reach 62-65 degrees. Then the male will finish cleaning a nest about 20 inches in diameter and the female will slide over it and start depositing her eggs, a few hundred at a time. In fact, she may return to the nest to spawn with the same male or in the nests of several males.
Many females may deposit their eggs in the same nests and numbers of eggs may vary from a few hundred to several thousand. Note: A female bass may contain 2,000-7,000 eggs per pound of body weight. When she is done, she leaves and moves into deep water to rest. The male has deposited his sperm on the eggs but stays around to protect them. The eggs will hatch in about 5-10 days depending on the water temperature. Meanwhile, the yellow perch are circling the nest and taking turns moving in for a free meal. The male bass will chase away the intruder and as he leaves the nest more perch quickly move in for a quick meal.
After the fry are born, they will remain on the nest until their egg sac has absorbed. During this time they have been hiding in the rocky bottom of the nest. They begin feeding on Entomostraca, but as they grow they increasingly seek larger food items and actually will feed on smaller fish once they reach 2 inches in length.
The growth rate of largemouth bass depends on environmental circumstances. A bass in New England will only grow from 2-4 inches in the first year, 5-7 inches in the second year and 8-11 inches in the third year. It takes seven or eight years for a largemouth to reach 18-19 inches. Florida bass are known to grow quickly and can reach 10 pounds in a few years, and 20-pounders are not uncommon. In New England, a 10-pound largemouth is a trophy.
Smallmouth bass spawn when the water temperature reaches 60-70 degrees. So you could actually have both largemouth and smallmouth spawning at the same time. In New England this is not likely to happen as the smallmouth have usually finished spawning before the largemouth begin.Their nests are normally smaller by a few inches in diameter and will be in water of 3-22 feet. Their nest will also be cleaned of rocks and gravel by the male fanning his tail. After the nest is complete, the male will select a ripe female (back to that Saturday night gig), and drive her to the nest (in a Corvette maybe?). The eggs incubate for 2-9 days. After hatching, the fry leave the nest within a few hours. Their is little or no parental care.
It can take 7-10 years for smallmouth in rivers to reach 18-20 inches. In infertile streams it can take four years for a smallmouth to reach 9 inches. This doesn't stop the smallmouth's top billing as the trophy fish of the bass family. It is an extremely active fish and usually will leave the water in a spectacular jump when hooked.
Both species of bass that are predominant in New England live on crayfish, minnows and smelt. However, neither largemouth or smallmouth will pass up a meal of small perch, alewives, pickerel or trout if there aren't any of their favorite foods available. Largemouth will also consume baby ducks, squirrels, chipmunks or anything that invades its territory. They are the sharks of fresh water.
William Billings, of South Burlington, Vt., recently did what no one in New England had ever done before. At a scant 10 yards, he pulled the trigger on a monster tom with a 16-inch beard. According the National Wild Turkey Federation's scoring system, when the bird's beard length and weight of 21 pounds, 8 ounces is calculated with the bird's inch and a half spurs, it equates to a total NWTF score of 83.5 — making it the 35th largest typical eastern turkey ever recorded in that category, and the second largest ever shot in the East. It is by far the highest scoring typical bird ever shot in New England or New York.
According to Billings, on Saturday evening he was driving down a road with his father and brother in an area they frequently hunt in Williamstown, Vt. They spied a large tom in a field they were familiar with and decided to set up on it early the next morning.
"We were set up by 4 a.m.," he said. "The tom flew down by 5:30 or 6 and started gobbling."
A half mile down the road, another tom perked up, and the hunters were surrounded by lively turkeys, non of which presented a shot. As the morning wore on the action faded. Around 9 o'clock the cold and rain was starting to get to the hunters when Billings' father spied another bird making its way toward their three decoys.
"When I saw him I said, 'Dad, he's got a third leg,'" said Billings, who at first glance mistook the giant beard for an extra leg. "Then I said, 'Dad, that's his beard!'"
The patient hunters stopped calling and let the bird work in close. "I am left handed and couldn't get the angle for the shot," said Billings. "He came closer and I shot him at about 10 yards,"
After a few quick pictures were snapped with a cell-phone camera, the bird was reported at Messier's General Store in East Randolph, Vt. The beard was officially measured at 16 inches. "I measured it three times," said the weigh master at Messier's, who added she had another man come over and verify her measurement.
After a bit of celebration, the turkey was put in the back of the family's pick-up truck for the hour-long drive home to South Burlington. During the trip, tragedy struck. According to Billings, something rubbed against the fragile beard, shortening its length by a few inches. This is not as unique a situation as it might appear.
Karen Cavender, who is in charge of records for the National Wild Turkey Federation, was optimistic.
"If it was a person of authority who was used to measuring beards on a regular basis, and if they sign an affidavit, I see no reason why it shouldn't be recognized," she said.
It should be noted that often with extremely large beards, they are very brittle. Frequently it is only a few hairs that survive for long at an exceptional length. The majority usually get worn down by natural wear and tear, including getting dragged on the ground.
Wayne Hooper is a member of the New England Outdoors Writers Association and a lifelong Seacoast resident.